The End is the Beginning
by lateVMlover
Summary: What would happen if Buffy, Faith, and Willow went to Wakanda when Thanos arrives? Would they make a difference in the outcome or would they suffer the same casualties? This story begins at the final battle on Earth in Avengers 3 and shows how Buffy, Faith, and Dawn work to change the outcome instead of the wait for Captain Marvel and Ant Man.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my Thor/Buffy story set during Thanos world-wide destruction. It begins with **_**Avengers 3**_** and **_**Avengers 4**_** events follow after the first chapter. **

**Yes, I have previously posted this chapter/story and deleted until I FINISHED it. It is a completed story, so you won't be waiting long for updates.**

**Dialogue in the opening scene is ****loosely**** taken directly from **_**Avengers Infinity War. **_

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the BTVS characters as they are property and creation of Joss Whedon. The late Stan Lee is responsible for Thor as well as Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby.**

Chapter 1: What the Hell?

_******Asgard Ship*****_

"_What the hell?" _Thor thought as the pain radiated throughout his body. He could not believe how effortlessly he had been defeated once again. Except this time, it was his people that were being slaughtered right in front of him—his friends.

"Hear me and rejoice. You have had the privilege of being saved by the great Titan. You may think it's suffering, but no, it's salvation. The universe scales tip toward balance because of your sacrifice. Even in death, you have become children of Thanos," one of Thanos thugs said in this really irritating and patronizing voice. Thor wanted to rip out his tongue.

"I know what it's like to lose. To feel so desperately you're right and then to fail," Thanos said as he moved closer to Thor.

Then he picked Thor up like he was a ragdoll. Knowing it was so easy for Thanos filled him both with rage and humiliation.

"Destiny arrives all the same. Now, it's here. Or should I say. I am," Thanos said with a grin.

"You talk too much," Thor said.

"The tesseract or your brother's head. I assume you have a preference," Thanos said to Loki.

"Oh, I do. Kill away," Loki said.

Thanos put his gauntlet up to Thor's face, burning it. Thor tried not scream or give Thanos the satisfaction, but the pain was agonizing. A scream was ripped out of him.

"All right! Stop!" Loki ordered, unable to stand to see his brother suffer like this. They had suffered so much of late, and their bond grew stronger with every battle. No matter his past crimes, Thor loved him. Loki didn't have it in him to betray that love completely.

"We don't have the tesseract. It was destroyed on Asgard," Thor said.

Loki lifted his hand and revealed the stone. He gave Thor an apologetic look while Thor felt sick with a sharp stab of betrayal. When would he learn not to trust his deceitful sibling?

"You really are the worst brother," Thor said to Loki. Loki's voice somehow echoed in head. _Forgive me, brother._

"I assure you, brother. The sun will shine on us again," Loki said, stepping forward.

"Your optimism is misplaced, Asgard," Thanos said with a chuckle.

"For one thing, I'm not Asgardian," Loki said. "For another, we have the Hulk."

Thor was relieved when Banner as the Hulk attacked Thanos, who was forced to release him. Thor, however, couldn't believe how quickly he subdued the Hulk, who now lay motionless at Thanos' feet. Desperate and enraged, he attacked Thanos, but it was like hitting a mountain with a pebble.

He was grabbed by one of Thanos' goons, metal wrapping around him, holding him in place.

Thor struggled against his new binding but found that he could not move at all. His eyes met his oldest friend—Heimdall was broken but not yet defeated. He used the last bit of strength he had to send Banner off the ship—at least one of them was live to fight another day. Banner could also warn their friends on Earth of the danger that was coming. Could Earth possibly withstand the coming of Thanos? Thor was supposed to be the planet's guardian, but he failed miserably. All he touched seemed to turn to ash. His father was dead, and Asgard was destroyed. Now Thanos was killing the last of them. Bitterness filled his mouth as he braced himself for the next blow Thanos would strike; he didn't have long to wait.

"That was a mistake," Thanos said. Then he stabbed Heimdall through the heart.

Thor screamed his rage. "You're going to die for that!" he vowed as he watched the light go out of Heimdall's all-seeing eye.

Then his mouth was silenced with a metal guard. Thor felt sick with rage and heartache as he watched Thanos' sycophant sing his praise as he handed him the tesseract. Thanos was wearing the Infinity Gauntlet, and it was holding the stones. How did he get it? Thor's mind raced as he tried to put it together. His sister's attack on Asgard had left the Nine Realms utterly vulnerable to Thanos. She had destroyed his hammer, and Thor was not the magician that his father had been.

Thanos spoke of two more stones being on Earth, and Thor's stomach clenched with fear. Thanos would destroy Earth as Thor knew his friends would not give up the stones without a fight, especially as one of them gave life to Vision.

"If you are going to Earth, might I suggest a guide in that area?" Loki suggested. "I have a bit of experience in that arena."

"If you consider failure experience," Thanos said.

"I consider experience experience," Loki said haughtily. "Oh mighty, Thanos, I, Loki, prince of Asgard—he paused and glanced at his brother. "Odison. The rightful king of Aesir, god of mischief, do herby promise to you my undying fidelity."

He moved quickly to stab Thanos in the throat, but Thanos held up his gauntlet, freezing him in place.

"Undying? You should choose your words more carefully," he said. He pulled Loki up by his throat, choking the life out of him.

"You will—never—be a god," Loki gasped. Then his head fell back as Thanos snapped his neck.

Thor tried to cry out, but his pain was muffled. He watched, helpless as his brother's lifeless body was thrown down in front of him with careless disregard. "No resurrection this time," Thanos said. Then he and his entourage disappeared, taking the bindings off Thor as soon as they left.

Thor struggled to get to his brother's side, pulling him close. He barely got to embrace him before the ship exploded, and everything went dark.

_******Slayers Headquarters******_

Faith walked up to Buffy, who had just arrived at the main slayer headquarters in Newark, New Jersey. Giles had wanted a place close to major airports, and as NYC was the first place people landed when they came from overseas, it was the ideal location. However, all the superheroes in New York City area made it problematic for the slayers. They didn't want to draw attention to themselves and found that the seedier underbelly of New Jersey kept them plenty busy.

"What the hell is going on, B?" Faith asked.

"I don't know," Buffy said grimly. "But hellmouths all over the world are boiling. The superfreaks are all assembled in some country named Wakanda. Something major is happening."

"I still say we missed an opportunity when we didn't plant a slayer in SHIELD," Xander said. "That would be the best way to know what is happening.

Willow, Dawn, and Giles walked up to the trio. "Yes, we should probably remedy that as soon as possible," Giles said. "We cannot be this blind in the future. Without the proper intelligence, we cannot prepare for whatever is coming."

"Coming? It's already here," Willow said. "My powers are reacting strongly to whatever presence is on the planet. The evil is here now."

"So should we just head to Wakanda and help the supes fight?" Buffy asked.

"There are too many hellmouths acting up," Dawn said. "We have to send the girls to all of them."

"How about Faith and I go to Wakanda and lend a hand to the superheroes?" Buffy suggested. "Willow, do you want to join us?"

"I think I better," Willow said. "Whatever is happening there, I have to try and stop it. I feel like all of life is at risk, and the Earth is crying out in fear and foreboding."

"It is that bad?" Giles asked in alarm.

Willow nodded. "It is, Giles. This is the worst threat that the Earth has ever faced—all of humanity is very much at risk."

Buffy was grim. "Okay. I'll get my scythe," she said. She hugged Dawn. "Be safe, Dawnie."

"You, too," Dawn said, her eyes filling with tears. For some reason, she felt like she might not see her again. "I love you."

"I love you more," Buffy said, forcing a smile. She hugged Xander and Giles before turning to go get her stuff.

"Meet me in my room in five," Willow said to Faith. Willow hugged Xander and Xander. "Take care of each other. Dawn, you stay with Xander, okay?"

"I will," Dawn promised. When Faith and Willow left, she leaned against Xander. "Why do I feel like we aren't going to see them again?"

"Sure, we will," Xander said.

Although he said the words, he wasn't sure it was true.

*****_Wakanda******_

They had just made the decision to lower the field around Wakanda when three people appeared on the field in front of them.

"Who's the new players?" Sam asked, seeing them appear from above. He and Rhodey had the air support.

"I don't know," Steve said. He glanced at the King.

"I do not recognize them," T'Challa said. One woman had red hair like Wanda while the other two women were blonde and dark-haired. The blonde carried a strange weapon, but she didn't hesitate to jump up and kill the first alien dog that attacked.

"Let's give the ladies a hand," Steve said as he and his friends ran to join the battle.

The creatures were relentless. When one died, there were four more in its place.

He heard one of the newcomers say, "B, these things are bigger than hellhounds. What the hell are they?"

"How would I know? Do I look like Giles?" Buffy said as she decapitated another.

She glanced at Willow, who was now floating, sporting her normal witchy white hair. A force field was all around her as the aliens bounced off her. "I am going to take down that ship," she said, noting where the reinforcements were coming from.

Buffy looked back and saw the super friends were now behind her. "Hello," she said with a friendly smile.

"Willow's going to take care of the ship," she said to Captain America. "Can you make sure the iron guy flying up there doesn't try to harm her? The guy with wings, too."

"Sure," Steve said, bemused by the woman. He relayed to the guys she was a friendly.

Faith, though, winked at him. "Damn, B. He's even hotter up close," Faith said. "I'm really digging the grunge look he's got going on."

Buffy laughed as she stabbed left and then swung right, killing two more. "Well, he is a wanted fugitive—definitely your type," she observed.

Nat frowned at the two women, who seemed too careless. "Girls, maybe you should focus on the fight," she said, pointedly.

Steve spared his partner a glance as they both killed the animals while eying the newcomers.

"Oh, we're always focused," Buffy said, losing her air of congeniality. A predatory look appeared in her eye as she swung her blade without looking. "I just don't need to give 100% of my focus to kill these ugly things."

"I'm Faith," Faith said as she gave Steve a hot look. "When this is over, I'm going to have a really big case of the double H's. I hope you can help."

Steven frowned, confused but nodded. "I'm always glad to help a fellow fighter," he said.

Faith laughed and turned to her sister slayer. "See, B? I told you the super friends would welcome the help," she said.

"Who are you?" Natasha asked as she stepped up to Steve's other side. None of the four paused in their slaying.

"We're vampire slayers," Buffy said. "I'm Buffy. Willow is the witch currently using her magic to fly."

"She's like Wanda," Natasha said.

Buffy shook her head. "No, no one is like Willow," she said simply.

"Guys, what's this ivory queen doing?" Sam asked in the comms.

"They say she's Willow the witch, and she's going to destroy the ship," Steve replied.

"'Cause it's so easy," Sam muttered. He couldn't get his protons blast to go through the shield.

However, the strange, floating woman managed to bring down the shields.

"The shields are down," Rhodey told him.

"Yes, I can see that. Full power," he said. He flew next to the woman. "So, Ivory Will, I'm going to go full throttle now that the shields are done. You got more juice left?"

Willow turned to the man with the metal wings and smiled. "The Earth powers me, so as long as it's still here, I have juice," she said calmly. It amused her that he called her ivory when her hair was very red.

Together, they released their respective powers onto the ship, and then it began to explode.

The ground support cheered in relief, but they didn't get relief for long as Willow sensed a powerful presence—the real threat.

"He's here," she said.

Sam and Rhodey followed her down to the ground even as the alien dogs kept coming.

"The girls took care of the last of Thanos' henchmen," Steve told him.

"Which girls? Ours?" Rhodey asked.

Steve grinned and nodded. "The slayers seem to enjoy killing the alien monster dogs," Steve said.

"Thanos is here!" Bruce yelled in his comms to Rhodey.

"Bruce says Thanos is here," Rhodey shared.

"I told you," Willow said.

"Will, do you have any mojo left to fight the big bad?" Buffy asked, looking at her.

Willow nodded. "I do. The Earth is afraid, and she is giving me so much more than normal. Whatever Thanos is, he is a poison to all of humanity," Willow said.

"Can you get rid of these super hellhounds, Red?" Faith asked.

Willow considered the best way to do so and called out, "Majko Zemljo, pozivam vas da se završi ova zaraza koja bi pojesti svoju decu. Vatra, padati i konzumiraju ih!"

"What is she saying?" Bucky asked Steve.

"It sounds a bit like Latin," Steve said. "Something about fire."

Instantly, all the invaders caught on fire, causing those fighting to jump back from the flames.

"Damn, Red!" Faith said in admiration.

"Why do you call her Red?" Sam asked.

"Because of the red hair," Faith said. They all looked at the white-haired witch, puzzled. "Well, normally she's redheaded. When she's channeling the good magic, she's white haired. When she goes all Dark Willow, she's black haired and freaky."

A breeze blew and the ash piles began to float away.

"I think that giant coming must be the leader of this apocalypse," Buffy said, catching sight of Thanos.

"Apocalypse?" Steve asked.

"It's what we call a world ending event," Buffy said.

"We usually stop one once or twice a year," Faith said with a shrug. "What's your number?"

"I don't know," Steve said. "Three?" He looked at Sam, who shrugged.

"He's getting closer," Buffy said as the purplish man approached. "Man, is he ugly!"

"He's a Titan," Steve told her.

"What's a Titan?" Buffy asked.

"Him," Steve said with a grin.

"Your salvation is at hand," Thanos called out.

All of sudden, a bolt of lightning hit the ground in front of them, and Thor was there with a giant tree and a small racoon.

"That's a sight you don't see every day," Buffy said.

"Thor's here," Steve said, relief in his voice.

"Thank God!" Rhodey added.

Buffy watched as Thor turned to Steve. "Glad to see you, old friend," he said.

"Likewise," Steve said, smiling.

"We need a god to fight a god," Rhodey said, pointing as Thanos got closer.

"These are my friends, Tree and Rabbit," he said, introducing his strange companions.

"I am Groot," the giant tree spoke.

"I am Steve Rogers," Steve said.

Buffy looked at Willow in shock. "There's talking trees? Why didn't you tell me that?" she asked.

"He isn't exactly a tree, Buffy. He's an alien," she said, smiling at her friend.

Thor jumped up and flew toward Thanos, wielding his new axe. Buffy began running to help him, not caring if the others followed. "Aim for his head!" Buffy called out and sighed when the new hottie hit the giant in the chest instead.

"Why can't they learn a beheading always ends a fight?" Faith said, running next to Buffy.

Willow and the others were a half a beat behind.

However, Thanos cried out in obvious pain when Thor's axe went in deep.

"Well, the hell, B," Faith complained. "The lightening god is having all the fun."

Buffy had a feeling, though, that this was just the beginning.

*****_To Be Continued*****_

_I do realize that Thor was there a bit longer before Thanos arrived, but I didn't need him to be there since Willow was. Assume that by the time Willow sensed Thanos and they visually see him, he acquires Vision's stone. Thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated, nitpicking about dumb stuff isn't. This is meant to be fun, not life-changing! New chapter in a few days._


	2. Chapter 2

**Although I, like everyone who saw it, thoroughly enjoyed ****_Endgame, _****I did NOT like at all the way they mostly ruined (in my opinion) Thor, turning him into a self-involved, pathetic excuse of a man, who easily walks away from his responsibilities. If you enjoyed that version of Thor, you won't like this story. I'm more interested in the Thor that was mute with anger and shame at the beginning of the movie. I could've had Willow battle Thanos, but the story would be over too soon. I decided to go another way that allows for maximum story potential. My story is 5 chapters long with a few windows opened for follow up stories.**

**Warning: This chapter DOES contain some spoilers for the beginning of ****_Endgame_****. Go watch the movie this weekend before you read if you don't want any spoilers. It is minor, however. However, I do NOT follow the action exactly as the movie, so keep that in mind.**

Chapter 2: Gone

_*****Where We Left Off*****_

Willow held up her hand to blast Thanos, but he sensed the threat and kicked out, knocking Thor into her. The very heavy man hit her hard, knocking her to the ground.

Buffy and Faith, however, didn't hesitate to jump in as Steve hit the giant with both his shields. Somehow, the giant alien phased them to fall threw him and batted Steve away like he was just a gnat.

Thanos kept holding up his gauntlet covered hand and effortlessly defeating all attackers. When Buffy and Faith got a chance to go at him again, the same thing happened.

Finally, Thor moved to swing his axe again—this time aiming for the head. But it was too late. Thanos held up his hand and snapped his finger.

Willow screamed out in in agony as she felt the violation go through the Earth. "Buffy!" she screamed.

Buffy turned and moved to go to Willow. Then she watched in horror as her body began to turn to ash. "Willow?" she said in disbelief.

"What the hell's going on?" Faith asked. She turned and saw the man with the robot arm dissolve.

Then others around them began to dissolve.

It was a nightmare.

An unspeakable horror that neither slayer could have imagined.

Neither could the Avengers as they stared in silence at the various piles of ash that used to be someone they loved.

"How could it take Willow?" Buffy asked. Her grief and shock too strong for tears. "She was so powerful."

"So was Wanda," Steve said. He looked at Rhodey. "Sam?" Rhodey shook his head. His two closest friends—gone.

Steve looked up at T'Challa's right hand, Okoye. "He's gone," she said in despair. "Why was I spared, but he taken? Wakanda needs him, not me!" The fierce warrior didn't even realize the tears were rolling down her cheeks as she looked at their armies. So few left. Wakanda was destroyed.

Buffy's heart beat hard as she suddenly worried about her own family. Willow was gone. Who else had been taken? She looked at Faith. "Willow is the most powerful being on the planet, and she was taken. How does anyone else stand a chance? We have to get home," she said.

"We have to kill that son of a bitch!" Faith shouted.

Buffy looked at Steve Rogers and Thor, waiting to see their response.

"I'm all for killing Thanos," Steve said. "But he used the stones to open a portal—he's gone. We don't know where he went."

"Willow could've found him," Faith said.

"Willow is gone," Buffy said, her mind still unable to process what happened. "She was directly connected to Earth, and he somehow managed to turn her to ash. How? How did he do it?"

"He had these infinity stones," Natasha said. "They gave him the power of a god."

"Do you think what happened here happened everywhere?" Buffy asked.

Rhodey looked sick at the thought and glanced at Thor.

Thor nodded. "With a snap of his finger, he took out half of the population everywhere," he said. "He believed that the universe existed with limited resources. He thinks his actions are acts of mercy."

"He's a total psycho," Buffy said in disbelief.

Thor nodded. "He is called the Mad Titan," he shared.

"Faith and I have to get home to New Jersey. Can someone help us? Willow teleported us here, but she's gone," Buffy said, her voice breaking on the last word.

Thor didn't know what else he was supposed to do, so nodded. "I can take you," he said.

"We'll meet you back in New York," Steve said.

Thor nodded.

"You are welcome to join us while we figure out what to do next," Steve said to Buffy and Faith.

"Okay," Buffy said. "I'm sorry we didn't really make a difference in the end."

Faith was seething with helpless rage. "This is bullshit," she said. "How could anyone just snap their fingers and eliminate half the planet?"

"Unfortunately, he didn't just eliminate half the population on Earth," Thor shared. "He did it throughout the universe—all of the Nine Realms."

Buffy and Faith exchanged a look of disbelief. How could they defeat a being with such power? Could they fix what had happened?

******_Newark, New Jersey*****_

The witches at the council's headquarters were all showing severe levels of anxiety, so Giles had called everyone home.

"I don't like this, Giles," Xander said. Whatever slight alpha sense he had left over from his hyena possession was snarling inside. "There's something about to happen that will be catastrophic."

"Buffy and Willow are there with the Avengers in Wakanda," Giles said. "They'll stop it."

"Do you really think so?" Dawn asked, feeling scared. For some reason, she felt like she did the time Glory had her on that tower. That was not a feeling she'd ever had again—not even when Sunnydale was destroyed. The past three years, she'd finished high school and tested out of an entire year of college. She was in her junior year at Princeton, and life was great. It was less than an hour drive, so she could come home whenever she wanted. Now, though, she had a sick feeling inside.

"I do, Dawn," Giles said, putting his hand on her shoulder in reassurance. She came home at least one weekend a month, and he was so proud of the woman she had become. Poised and beautiful, she'd gotten offers from several places. However, she decided to go to a school close to them all. Of course, Princeton was no compromise as it was a premier Ivy League school.

"I think that Buffy doesn't know how to fail. If there's a way to stop whatever is threatening the planet, she will do so," Giles said.

"And Willow," Kennedy added. "Willow is the baddest witch around. She will kick ass." They were no longer a couple, but they were still good friends.

Vi and Rona were the only other slayers from the old Sunnydale final battle that was stationed in the United States. Rona was normally in Cleveland with Andrew, and Vi was in Los Angeles with Spike and Angel. Kennedy was stationed in the United Kingdom with Robin as he was running things in London. At first, Giles had been and Robin was in Newark, but last year, Giles requested the switch. He didn't like to be so far away from his girls. As Faith and Robin had broken up, Robin was glad to put miles between him and a pissed Faith. Rona and Vi, along with Kennedy, had come to a training conference Faith and Buffy were putting on for all the slayers. That's how Faith and Buffy were both in the same place to go lend a hand to the latest threat. Normally, Faith and Buffy took turns putting out fires wherever they were needed. One would always stay in New Jersey while the other would take care of whatever was needed.

All of them were now anxiously waiting for word. All of them were looking to Giles to offer reassurance. He forced a smile. "I am confident that the three of them are fine and doing their part to put down this latest foe," he said. "After all, they aren't doing it alone, but with many of Earth's mightiest heroes."

"Do you think they'll meet Thor or Captain America?" Dawn asked with a glimmer of excitement.

"Of course," Xander said. "There's no way they'd not be there if it's as bad as Willow sensed."

The group was silent a long moment. Then Kennedy's eyes widened. "Something's wrong," she said.

Everyone turned toward her, ready to fight whatever foe was coming, but then she began to turn to ash.

"What the hell is happening, Giles?" Xander asked in horror.

"I don't know," Giles said.

Before anyone could even move toward her, though, she was gone.

"She's a freakin' pile of ash!" Rona exclaimed. "What did that?" She looked around for an enemy.

Then Vi began to dissolve. "I don't feel right," she said.

Rona reached for her hand, and it dissolved inside of hers.

"Giles!" Dawn scream in terror as she saw Xander began to fade.

"Dawnie," he said. "Tell the girls I'm sorry for leaving you."

"Xander!" Dawn yelled, reaching for him.

It was too late—he was gone.

Giles heard screams throughout the building and had a sick feeling that whatever was happening there was happening everywhere.

Dawn ran into his arms. "What's happening, Giles? How can we stop it?" she asked.

"I-I don't think we can," he said, feeling more lost than he could ever remember feeling. "The girls must not have been able to stop it."

Dawn bent over. "Giles, it's going to happen to me! I can feel something. Something's not right," she gasped. Her cells felt aflame.

"Try to fight it," Giles said. Shouldn't her keyness protect her? Surely, she wouldn't be taken from him, too. Giles wanted to scream at his own impotence and fought to push down the nausea.

Dawn didn't dissolve like the others, though. Something else was happening with her.

"Giles, we have to do something!" Rona said, feeling overwhelmed and terrified. Vi and Kennedy were gone. Xander was gone. How could they save Dawn?

A green glow began to emanate from Dawn. Then it grew as her flesh began to dissolve, turning to ash like all the others.

"I'm sorry, Dawn," Giles whispered in despair.

"What's the green smoke?" Rona inquired.

"It's her true form," Giles said. "It's not smoke. It's the essence of the key. I thought it was gone, but clearly, I was wrong."

The green smoke got more substantial and kind of hovered. "Is it going to attack?" Rona asked.

"I don't think so," Giles said. "It has to have some part of Dawn imprinted on it." The Key was ancient with vast, unknown power. It might be possible that the Key could do what he could not—help stop or reverse what was happening. "Dawn? Are you still there?"

Dawn Marie Summers, sister of Buffy, was hanging on tightly to the mystical energy that made up the Key. She could hear her name being called, but her eyes—they'd dissolved.

_How am I alive?_ She looked at her form and saw only green. Realization hit her as she felt a deep pang of sorrow. _I am the Key._ What does that mean?

"Dawn, if you can hear me, if you're still there, can you let me know?" Giles asked.

Somehow, Dawn could still see him—the good, brilliant man, who she admired more than anyone but Buffy. Oh, goddess! Buffy! She would be so upset. Only a year ago had she finally stopped having bodyguards follow Dawn everywhere on campus. Now, her human form was destroyed.

"Dawn?" Giles asked.

Dawn tried to nod her non-existent head by moving up slightly and then back down.

"She moved!" Rona exclaimed. "She's still Dawn somehow."

"Dawn, you have to go out onto the universe and find someone powerful enough to help fix what's happened," Giles said. "Whatever's happened has probably happened everywhere. You are not confined anymore to this world. Go. Get help. Find a way to save Xander—to bring him back to us."

Dawn could do that—she could go for help.

"Whatever part of you remembers your humanity, hold on tight to it, Dawn," Giles said. He feared that she'd soon become consumed by her key nature. "You might be our only hope."

Dawn moved up and down, hoping to show her agreement. Then she tried to reach out to him, wanting to feel contact. When her essence touched him, it was like she could see inside his soul. In an instant, she knew him—all of him. His past, his present, his likes and dislikes, all of his memories were suddenly hers. She felt the wrongness of this violation and moved away from him.

How did she do that?

"Don't be afraid, Dawn," Giles said. "You can do this."

Dawn could feel knowledge seeping inside her. Dawn Marie Summers was not really who she was—it wasn't even the biggest part of who she was. She could feel the Earth and the great death that was creepy across its surface. What had happened there was happening everywhere.

Thanos. The name came into her consciousness. Somehow, she knew the name, and the threat he posed to all life. His great act of evil—genocide of life everywhere—could not go unpunished.

She would find someone who could undo what he did. Someone that could put her back into her body.

Giles watched as the green ball of energy went up to the ceiling and out of the building.

"Do you think she can do anything to help?" Rona asked.

"I don't know," he said. He hoped so. He held out his hand to Rona, knowing she would need the contact even more than he. She took his hand and waited for his instruction. "We must see who else has been taken."

The two walked around the property seeing several more piles of ash. Eventually, Rona couldn't take it anymore and collapsed, sobbing.

Giles put his hand on her shoulder, too numb to cry. Andrew and a few other watchers, witches, and slayers were also in various degrees of mourning.

Then a bright flash came into the room, and both threw up their hands. "What the heck was that?" Rona asked. They moved to the nearby window to see.

"It's Buffy!" Andrew exclaimed, his relief obvious.

"And Faith," Rona said. "Thank God!"

Buffy and Faith let go of Thor. "That was a wild ride," Faith said.

"Thanks," Buffy said to him. "Would you mind sticking around for a bit? I don't know what I'm walking in to."

"Of course," Thor said. He needed something else to focus on rather than his complete and utter failure. Even with his new weapon, he had failed to kill Thanos. His brother was dead. Heimdall was dead, and Asgard was destroyed. He was such a failure as king—Loki was right. Asgard deserved better than he.

He followed the two women. He had seen them in battle, and they reminded him strongly of his father's Valkyrie. A desire to see his Lady Sif hit him hard. Was she dead like her brother and his Warriors Three?

Buffy's eyes scanned the group that rushed out to meet her. Where was Dawn? Where was Xander? _Please let them be alive!_

"You're alive!" Andrew exclaimed, running to hug her. "What happened?" Then he realized who was with them as his eyes fixed on Thor. His mouth shut as he was overwhelmed by the hero's presence.

"Giles!" Buffy said in relief as she saw him. Giles embraced her. Then, she pulled back and looked for Dawn. "Where's Dawn and Xander?"

"They're gone," he said quietly. "Kennedy went first. Then Vi. Then Xander."

"Dawn's dead?" Buffy asked, trying to take in the loss. "Xander and Willow are both gone?"

"Willow's gone?" Rona asked. "How could anything kill her?"

"Thanos snapped his finger and half of people in the universe just dissolved," Faith said bitterly. "It was random from what we could tell."

"Dawn isn't exactly dead," Giles said. "Her physical body is gone, but her keyness was still there."

"She turned into a giant gas ball," Rona said. "But she seemed to understand Giles. He told her to find someone in the universe that could help us. She left."

"But she's not dead?" Buffy asked, trying to understand.

"I don't know how to answer that, Buffy," Giles admitted. "Her body dissolved, but her essence remained. We don't know much about her keyness. We thought it was gone after Glory, but we were wrong."

"Did you say Key? Your sister is the Key?" Thor asked.

"Buffy, is that Thor?" Andrew whispered.

"Oh, sorry," Buffy said. "Yes, this is Thor. He gave us a ride here. We're going to meet up with the other Avengers who remained and see if we can fix what's happened. Thanos, this alien, has these all-powerful infinity stones that gave him the power of a god. He did this."

"Did it take the Avengers?" Andrew asked.

"Many have fallen," Thor said grimly.

"Captain America and the Black Widow were still there," Buffy said.

"If your sister is the Key, she cannot be destroyed," Thor said. "She was rumored to created by my father's father eons ago. I know not for certain because she has been lost since my father was a boy. How did she come to be in Midgard?"

"She was fashioned from me and given to me as a sister so that I would protect her from a hell god that was on Earth," Buffy said.

"That is extraordinary," Thor said. "I am so sorry that she is gone. Thanos murdered my brother, who had one of the stones.""

"I'm sorry. We have to find a way to reverse what's done," Buffy said. "Then we both can get back our siblings. We need to get those stones from Thanos because this cannot be our world."

"He is not on Earth anymore," Thor said flatly. "Without a powerful sorcerer, we cannot possibly track his essence. I have not the power of my father."

"I will contact the Coven and see who is still alive," Giles said, glad to have something to do.

"How many did we lose here?" Buffy asked.

"Slightly more than half," Giles said.

"Vi and Kennedy are gone," Rona said. "Xander's last words were, 'Tell the girls I'm sorry for leaving.'"

"That's Xander," Faith said, her eyes filling with tears. "Always thinking of his girls before himself." She reached out and took Buffy's hand.

Her act of compassion broke down the wall Buffy had built. She could no longer contain her grief, falling to her knees.

How can they be gone?

******_Chapter End******_

_Reviews are the best! _


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Taking Stock

_******A Few Hours Later*****_

After Buffy had spent all her grief in Faith and then Giles' arms, she took a hot bath, her mind trying to come up with ideas. There had to be a way to fix this.

When she was dressed and joined everyone else, she found a desolate group. Andrew was drowning his sorrows in baking, trying to focus on the cooking for Thor. However, he couldn't even find any real joy at knowing that one of his heroes were joining them for dinner. Thor was currently leaning against a wall while Faith paced, ranting without ceasing. Everyone was too traumatized to even attempt to calm her down. Buffy didn't bother either—she had earned the right to her feelings.

"So what's the plan?" Buffy said.

Giles put his glasses back on, feeling wretched. Buffy always looked to him for answers, but he was still trying to wipe his mind around the magnitude of the loss.

"From what we can ascertain, about half of the entire world's population is gone—disappeared, turned to ash," Giles said. "There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason—no pattern that I can conceive of."

"Because there was none," Thor said, speaking for the first time in hours. "Thanos' hubris is so great that he believes he alone can keep resources from being used from over population—a problem his home planet of Titan once had before he decimated it. Today, he wiped out people on a completely random pattern—no matter of race, station or species."

"This is happening on other planets?" Giles asked, horrified at the idea.

"Are you not understanding? The man has all the powers of all the infinity stones—the power to stop time, the power over life and death—the power over all creation everywhere," Thor said.

"How can one man yield such power?" Giles asked.

"He is not a man—he is a Titan," Thor said. "They are equal to an Asgard except he is larger than the average Titan—stronger. He killed many of my brethren, including my oldest friend Heimdall before he come to Midgard."

"We can't just let him get away with this!" Faith said angrily. "We have to get his stones and use them to bring everyone back—feed them to him afterward."

"Yes, that's a good idea," Buffy said. She looked expectantly at Thor. "Can you take Faith and I to your super friends? I know you don't know us—but we're vampire slayers. We were called at fifteen and empowered to fight vampires and demons. We do it in secret, not in the open like you and your friends. However, we have saved this planet from destruction countless times except the news doesn't share our feats or applaud our accomplishments."

"I did not realize that Midgard still had vampires—the Old Ones were contained," he said. "My father made sure they were trapped in the Deeper Well."

"That's true," Giles said. "Illyria did manage to escape, but she took over a human vessel, whose soul is still there. She fights on our side against the demons on this planet."

"Well, she fights with Angel," Faith corrected.

"To know that even one escaped is disturbing," Thor said, frowning. "My realm in Asgard has been destroyed by my half-sister. We are going to make our home on Earth as I love the people of Earth. I will send my Valkyrie to aid you." Then it hit him, and he grimaced. "Well, I will have to see how many survived Thanos' culling."

"Culling? That's a good word for this," Giles said.

Buffy looked at the remaining girls. "These other women are also slayers. There used to be only one at a time—decided by a bunch of men long ago. But when I was drowned by a vampire at sixteen, the line split into Faith's line. Then in our final battle in Sunnydale, the First Evil opened up the hellmouth there and tried to destroy our planet. He had wiped out so many of the potentials, but there was a few hundred left he hadn't killed. About twenty of them were with me in Sunnydale when Willow used the magic imbued in my scythe to call all potential slayers."

"Your friend must have been very powerful indeed to do such a thing," Thor said, impressed.

A wave of sorrow hit Buffy as she thought of Willow being dead. "She was. The fact that Thanos was able to kill her is incomprehensible to me," Buffy said. She looked at Andrew. "Andrew, start calling all slayer houses. Find out if this culling extended to the demon population. Then tell all houses to make there way here. We need to know who survived and to regroup."

"What about dinner?" Andrew asked. "It's almost ready."

"After dinner is fine," Buffy said. Then she looked at Giles and said, "The police are going to need help."

Giles nodded. "Yes, people will be devastated, and then they'll be angry," he said.

"We might consider having some of the slayers that are old enough to join, give them a legitimate reason to stop crime," Buffy said.

Giles frowned. "That's not a good precedent, Buffy. Slayers aren't meant to kill humans. Officers do that in the line of duty on occasion," he reminded her.

"I know, Giles, but if half the world's population is gone, we have no way to assess if that means the criminals and demon population is stronger or what," Buffy said. "We might want to consider helping the police or military in an official capacity."

"I'll consider it," Giles said.

"Let's go," Faith said, impatient. "I can't handle doing nothing—not a minute longer."

Buffy nodded and looked at Thor, who agreed. "I am at your leave," he said.

"Rain check on dinner, Andrew," Buffy said.

Andrew nodded. It wasn't like anyone had much of an appetite anyway.

Buffy hugged Giles tightly and a few others, who felt terrified at the thought of her absence.

They all watched as Thor led them outside. Faith held on to his left side while Buffy fit snuggly under the arm that held his axe. Her own scythe was strapped to her back.

Then they were gone, and Giles felt a stab of loss. What if he never saw them again? He closed his eyes, so he could push away his fear. Then he faced his young charges.

"Start making calls," he said to all of them. "We need information."

He said a silent prayer that Dawn was okay wherever she was.

*****_New York******_

Thor led his two new friends into the Avengers headquarters. Natasha and Steve stood, looking relieved to see Thor.

"Glad you're back," Steve said. He looked at the two women who had helped in the fight. "Ladies."

"It's Buffy and Faith," Buffy reminded him, pointing between them.

"Steve. That's Natasha," he said.

"Thor, have you heard from Clint? I can't get him to pick up," Natasha asked.

"No. I received a call from Lady Jane. Although she and I are no longer together, I was happy to hear her voice and know that she is well," he shared.

"That's good," Steve said.

"Well, I've lost my sister, my two best friends and half of my slayers," Buffy said. "I want to find this Thanos and get those stones from him. There has to be a way to reverse this."

"We're regrouping. We've lost all our big guns. The Scarlett Witch is gone along with Vision. Tony went after Thanos on his ship—he's out of our atmosphere. We don't know if he's alive or not," Steve said. "The Black Panther is gone. Dr. Strange and Spiderman were with Tony, so their status is unknown."

"If we let too much time pass, Thanos will have destroyed the stones," Buffy said.

Thor frowned. "Why would he give up such power?" he asked. "I cannot see that as a possibility."

"Well, I for one don't want to take that chance," Faith said. "We have got to find him."

"Willow was a witch with powerful magic," Buffy said. "I can contact her coven in Devon to see if anyone survived that has any kind of power. Magic is the best way to track someone."

"I'm going to go to Clint's," Natasha said. "If his family was taken, he won't be in a good place."

"Do you need me to come with you?" Steve asked.

"No, you need to stay here. That beacon of Fury's has been going off. Maybe he knew someone that could help," she said.

All of them were struggling with their own sense of loss and desperation. Doing anything—no matter how little—seemed the best course of action.

None of them would consider the possibility that they would fail.

*****_Somewhere in our Galaxy*****_

Dawn worked hard to hold on to her core self—the sister of Buffy. The power and knowledge that filled her as she lost her form and the Key took over was so vast. It was frightening and exhilarating. She was ancient, created long ago by—the truth of her real origins was elusive. When she thought of it, she almost felt like the memory was going to form. Then it was gone.

She floated out of Earth's atmosphere, feeling amazed at the beauty of the stars. Looking down on the Earth was a sight she would never forget. How see saw without eyes was not explainable. She was energy and more than energy. She was still Dawn but so much more. It was hard to describe. Buffy's head would explode if she tried to explain it to her. The mental version of herself smiled at that thought, but she had no mouth to form a smile.

Still, Dawn internally smiled thinking of her sister, who she knew was still on Earth. She hadn't hunted Buffy up when she left Giles. Nor could she see a vision of Buffy with her Key powers, but without the limits of her human flesh, she just knew. Buffy was okay. Her connection to Buffy was stronger than anything. Once, Buffy told her that she was apart of her. Dawn hadn't been sure that she meant it back when she'd said to her, but now she got it.

Dawn was made out of Buffy—her daughter in many ways. Her memories claimed Joyce as her mother, but the reality was the monks had fashioned her human form from Buffy, not Joyce. It didn't matter where she was in the universe, she would still know how to find Buffy.

However, it wasn't Buffy who needed her help—it was Xander and Willow and everyone else that was taken. Somehow, she saw the face of the enemy and knew his name.

Thanos—the Mad Titan. He was an ancient enemy of—Dawn didn't know. It was like a splinter in her mind. She knew so many things she hadn't know before her body dissolved, yet there was still blanks in her memories. A thought would form, and she would think she knew it all. Then it would stop—like hitting a brick wall.

When Thanos, the enemy of all life everywhere, left Earth, she felt him go. The devastation he had created was complete. He was done wielding his power like a scythe for Death. How did she know this? That was a mystery to Dawn, but she knew it had to do with the Key's origins—her creator or creators.

She had to search out a power in the universe—one that would be able to reverse or undo what Thanos had done. For a moment fear filled her as her mission seemed so impossible.

Dawn wasn't Buffy or Willow—she wasn't even Xander, the bravest guy she knew. She was just Dawn. Everyone knew that Dawn was the one to be rescued by the heroes. She never did the saving or hero stuff. What if she couldn't do anything? It wasn't like she had a mouth to talk to anyone.

Giles' image filled her mind, and she thought of his words and his faith. He believed in her. He was counting on her, so Dawn could _not_ fail him.

Dawn had to find someone to save those she loved—someone strong enough to restore Earth.

Who would it be? She didn't know, but she moved through the vastness of space, toward Mars, determined not to let everyone down.

*****_Chapter End*****_

_So I do have a clear person in mind that is in the Marvel world, but the character has never showed up in the Avengers movies. I don't plan on bringing in Captain Marvel as that would be exactly the same as the movie, nothing personal against the character._

_Thanks for reading. Drop a review if so inclined._


	4. Chapter 4

**As this IS fanfiction, I play around with comic lore for this story. I wanted a solution to the Thanos problem that completely deviated from the script. Originally, I considered the Silver Surfer. Then I thought of going into an alternate DC realm and stealing the Flash for a time travel solution. Then it occurred to me that Whedon's universe had a probable solution. **

**A reminder: In the movie, Captain Marvel made it back to Earth over twenty days after Thanos. This story takes place BEFORE she gets there. Remember, I am NOT a comic reader, so I am very much playing in this world with my ****_in_****expertise. **

**I hope you enjoy this. **

Chapter 4: The Old One

_*****Two Days Later, New York*****_

Buffy and Faith returned to the _Avengers' _headquarters just after sunset. Steve and Thor were the only ones there.

"Our witches confirmed that Thanos is nowhere on this planet. He's left," Buffy said, her frustration clear.

"That's what our resources have said, too," Steve said.

Natasha came into the room. "Clint is a mess," she said. "His entire family was taken—the kids and Laura."

"God," Steve said, running a hand across his face.

"Too many people have lost everyone," Buffy said. "The world can't take such devastation."

"It must," Thor said flatly. "I lost my entire world, most my people—my brother, my best friend. We have to avenge what he's taken from us."

"I'm there," Faith agreed.

Buffy's phone rang. "Angel," she said. "Yes, I'm inside. Okay." She hung up. "My friend is here with a possible solution."

"Angel came through?" Faith asked eagerly.

"We'll see," Buffy said. She looked at the super trio. "Angel is a vampire with a soul. He has an ally named Illyria. She is a former Old One. One of her powers was stopping time or moving through time or portal opening—I don't know exactly."

"Angel took most of her power from her 'cause it was too much for her new form," Faith added.

Thor looked alarmed and stood. "An Old One? On this realm?" he asked.

"She's not a threat, so relax," Buffy said.

"If she is an Old One, she _is _a threat," Thor said.

"She can help us," Buffy assured him. Instead of arguing, she went to wait outside the room, so Angel would know where they were in the vast building.

Steve looked at Thor, who was very tense. "I think it's going to be okay," he said.

"If she is an Old One, I do not know how that is so," he said, braced for battle.

"Blue is okay," Faith said. "She took over the body of this super smart and sweet woman named Fred—the girl was a genius, who survived five years in a hell dimension called Pylea. Angel believed that Fred's soul was consumed, but it wasn't. Fred's will and tie to her body kept it from being destroyed. Before this shit happened with Thanos, Willow—our most powerful witch—worked her mojo and sealed Fred's soul to Illyria. Fred won't allow Illyria to hurt anyone—at least not anyone that doesn't deserve it."

Buffy led Angel and Fred into the room. Fred was chatting a mile a minute.

"It's just awful, Buffy. Spike is gone! My ma and pa won't answer their phones! They might be gone, too!" she said, wiping her eyes. "Now you say Willow is gone! It's just awful!"

"Don't worry, Fred," Angel said. "Between us and these Avengers, we'll get everyone back."

"This is your Old One?" Steve asked as he looked at Fred in confusion.

"Oh, no, I'm Fred," Fred said, giving him a dimpled smile. "I can't believe I'm meetin' Captain America! You're even more beautiful in person!"

"He is prime grade," Faith said with a wink at Steve.

Steve flushed and glanced at Natasha for help. Natasha was smiling but said, "I'm Natasha."

"Golly, you looked so fierce fightin' them demon invaders in New York, but you're not much bigger than Buffy. Are you a slayer, too?" Fred asked her.

"No, Fred," Buffy said. "She's a trained agent of SHIELD." She'd gotten to know Fred when Willow did the spell uniting Fred with her body, and the woman was a real sweetheart. Dawn adored her, and Xander totally had a crush.

"Is Dr. Banner here? I'd love to discuss this article I read in _Nature_ with him. New experiments with magnetically doped topological insulators at BESSY II have revealed possible methods of lossless signal transmission that involve a surprising self-organization phenomenon. In the future, it might be possible to develop materials with such characteristics at room temperature that can be used as processing units in quantum computing"** she said excitedly.

"Fred," Angel said.

"Oh, sorry," Fred said, pushing up her glasses. "Ria's been on such a terror the past forty-eight hours that I hardly got a chance to talk to anyone."

"I'm confused," Natasha said. "I thought you said your friend was an Old One. How can she help? We already have a physicist."

"The Old One is within this form," Thor said, stepping closer.

Fred's form changed, her glasses gone, her hair streaked with blue, the familiar bloodred body armor of Illyria replacing her normal attire. "I am no longer an Old One," she said in that cold tone of hers. "However, some of my essence remains. I did not know Asgardians lived on this realm."

"She's like Bruce," Steve said in awe.

"My form is not as indestructible as the green Hulk," Illyria said with a haughty sniff. "Although my shell has a brilliant mind and is my guide, she would never allow me to create such chaos. Of course, I am not a mindless animal either."

"Hulk is not mindless," Thor said coldly. "How are you on this realm? My great-grandfather was said to have banished your kind."

"Yes, into the Deeper Well, where I lived until a worshipper accessed the magics of the Wolf, Ram and Hart," Illyria said.

"Okay, let's get to the point," Faith said impatiently. "Blue, can you do any time traveling? We need to get back to before Thanos got those."

"Or maybe find whatever realm he jumped to before he destroys them now," Buffy suggested.

"There are infinite possibilities," Thor said. "If she did have the ability to time travel, that would be the ideal choice. We could prevent everyone from dying."

"Or we could take the stones and revive everyone," Natasha said. "Kill Thanos like we failed to do."

"We know from Thor the time frame of when the gauntlet was acquired. It was after Asgard fell, and the All-Father died," Steve said. "We should travel to where Thanos would be and kill him. He's the reason for all of this."

"His ambition is greater than even my brother Loki's," Thor said. "He must be put down."

"I no longer have my power to open portals or bend time," Illyria said. "What you ask is beyond me."

"But you had that power at one time?" Steve asked.

"I did," she said. "My human vessel could never contain even half of my former glory."

"Could you obtain it temporarily and then get rid of it before it does you much harm?" Faith wondered, looking at Angel. "You took away her power. Could you do it again?"

"Wesley created a ray gun of sorts that dispersed her excess energy," Angel explained. "It didn't exactly suck away her powers. She was unstable. Her power could have destroyed a city block."

"One of the infinity stones could stabilize her," Steve said.

"We are not giving a pure demon access to unlimited power," Buffy said, glaring at him.

"I thought you said Fred kept her in line," Steve countered.

"She isn't Illyria's soul—more like a consciousness inside her that has a soul," Buffy clarified. "If Illyria is too powerful, she could keep Fred from ever manifesting."

"I'm sure if your friend Wesley did something to keep her from exploding, Bruce could," Natasha said. Steve nodded in agreement.

"Illyria, could you get your power back if we went inside the Deeper Well?" Angel asked.

"It is possible," she said.

"How do we get to this Deeper Well?" Thor asked.

"I can show you," Angel said. He went there once, thinking he could save Fred. Thanks to Willow, he finally had Fred back.

"We need to talk to Bruce and the others," Steve said. "Find out if they want to track Thanos now and get the stones from him or kill him before he gets them."

"He's got all the power with the stones," Faith pointed out. "It would totally be better to get him before he gets that powerful, right?"

"I would agree," Thor said.

"Fine," Steve said. "Thor, you go with them to this Deeper Well while Nat and I speak to Rhodey and Bruce and make sure we're on the same page."

Angel wasn't sure he liked the risk this posed to Fred, but if it was a chance to bring back half the world, how could he protest the risk? "Are you sure about this, Fred?" he asked, looking at Illyria.

Illyria changed back to Fred and reached for Angel's hand. "Don't worry, Angel," she said, smiling up at him. "It'll be all right. Illyria isn't the monster she once was—no matter her bravado."

"I hope you're right," he said grimly. He didn't want to think about losing Fred all over again.

*****_In the Cosmos*****_

_The pathos of loss and pain spread throughout the cosmos. It was not supposed to be. What the Mad Titan had done was no prophesied in any realm. Nor did any power foresee how far his great hubris would push him, the depths he would sink to._

_Eternity, the Abstract Embodiment of Time and the physical manifestation of the multiverse itself turned to Infinity, his sister. "This should not be so," he said._

"_Yet it is," she replied._

"_Thanos obtained the power of a god to undo half of all creation—throughout all the nine realms," he said. _

"_It can be undone," she said. "The Key has obtained a soul and is seeking aid."_

"_The Beyonder can help—he has the power," Eternity said. _

"_He is unpredictable—more like the Mad Titan than not," his sister replied. "We cannot risk the situation growing more dire."_

"_I agree," Eternity said. "If she asks, we can aid her without interfering directly."_

_Infinity nodded. "I agree. However, there could be another way if we wait—there are powerful forces on Earth that could succeed to undo what has been done," she said._

"_Yet dare we gamble with the cosmos?" he asked. "There are multiple possibilities. Only a handful would fix the situation."_

_The Key approached._

_******To Be Continued******_

_**Fred's science blurb came directly from a website called physic dot org._

_Reviews are the best gift you can give!_


	5. Chapter 5

**This is the resolution chapter and wraps up this storyline. I plan on revisiting this after I finish other stories. I'd like to explore a Buffy/Thor pairing more seriously and bring in the Guardians of the Galaxy. I need to finish my other Avengers crossover, however. Thanks for reading!**

Chapter 5: The Returned

_*****Cosmos******_

Dawn looked down at her newly created body and grinned. She had fingers and toes again. Her hands went to her boobs—she had boobs again. Buffy would be so jealous. Running into the cosmic gods had been a lucky twist of fate. The god told her to picture her form, so she did. Then in a moment, she was just like her old self.

Well, not exactly. Now she had her keyness—she remembered how to access her powers. The god that helped her also gave her the ability to absorb excess energies. He said that she'd need that back on Earth if she was going to help save everyone.

She was dressed all in green—kind of like Robin Hood or the Green Lantern from that movie Xander rented. Thanks to the god named Infinity, she looked human again. Her encounter had been surreal.

_Dawn, our morning star, you have a task that we can offer aid," the female voice said._

_The light was so bright that Dawn couldn't exactly make out their form. "Can you dim down the bright light? I can't see you."_

_Suddenly, the light dimmed, and she saw a tall man and woman dressed like old pictures from her Greek Gods' study. "Thanks," she said._

"_I am Eternity, and this is my sister, Infinity," the man said. "We can bring your human form back to you and aid you in your quest to reverse what Thanos has done."_

"_You know about that?" she asked._

_The woman nodded. "His actions have ricocheted throughout the multi-verse. By destroying so much life in this universe, he has unbalanced everything," she said. "It must be fixed."_

"_Are you going to go with me to Earth and fix it?" Dawn asked hopefully._

"_That task is not for us," Eternity said. "It is for you to do."_

"_What can I do?" Dawn asked. _

"_You are not human," Infinity said. "Your father is a god, who tried to create life without a female counterpart. He did not succeed."_

"_But I'm here—I'm alive," Dawn said in confusion._

"_A demonic being from Earth acquired you long ago, but you were made human by powerful magics," Infinity said._

"_Yes, the monks did it to protect me from a hell god," Dawn said._

"_By doing so, they did not just give you a body, but they gave you a soul," Infinity said. "Your sister's blood and soul were reborn in you."_

"_Seriously?" Dawn asked in surprise._

"_Yes," Infinity said. "That means that your sister's life force is tied to yours."_

"_I didn't die when she did," Dawn said. "She jumped through a portal to save Earth and died. My friend Willow brought her back."_

"_Yes, we know," Eternity said. "You would've ceased to exist in your human form within a year. It would've started to break down as your soul was contained also in your sister. The two souls cannot be permanently separated. As you are immortal, so now is your sister. She cannot die permanently, but she can always be brought back as long as you are in your human form. When you cease to have a human form, she will be able to die."_

_Dawn grimaced. "I'm keeping her from heaven?" she asked, upset at the thought._

"_When you both grow weary of human existence, you can shed your human form, and then she will be set free," Infinity explained._

_Dawn was relived and nodded. "So what can I do on Earth? Do I have the power to reset time?" she asked._

"_No. You have the power to absorb excessive energies, magical attacks, and opening of portals," Infinity said._

"_The Old One is gaining back power to fix what Thanos did," Eternity explained. "However, she cannot contain such power for long in her current form."_

"_Illyria?" Dawn asked. "That's good."_

"_Go to Earth now, and you be able to give them aid," Eternity said._

Somehow, Dawn was able to, in this new form, to think of where she wanted to be and get there. Now, she was floating above Earth. How was she able to breath? She didn't understand it, but after Thanos destroyed her original form, this new one seemed to be better equipped.

She grinned. "I'm like a superhero! Buffy's going to be so jealous!" she said to the stars.

*****_Earth*****_

Steve, Clint, Thor, and Natasha, along with Rocket the talking racoon went with Buffy, Faith, and Angel to the Deeper Well entrance while Illyria went inside. Angel tried to keep the roster that went with him down to just Thor and Buffy, but they were all too curious. Also, they just wanted to feel like they were apart of doing something to reverse the devastation, and Illyria getting her power was the first step.

"Is this going to work?" Clint asked, pacing with the seething anger he was feeling. His grief was threatening to stomp out all reason, and he was holding on by a short thread.

"It has to," Buffy said, unwilling to consider the alternative.

"Something comes," Thor said, bracing himself with his weapon ready. He sensed the energy building before his eyes saw anything.

A portal formed and a figure in green stepped out of it.

"Who's that?" Natasha asked.

Dawn took off the green head piece. "It's me, Buffy," she said.

"Dawn?" Buffy said in shock. Then she moved to embrace her, overwhelmed to see her alive and well.

"How are you here?" Faith asked, hugging her next.

"It's a crazy story," Dawn said. She looked around. "Who's your new friends?"

Giddy with happiness, Buffy introduced her to everyone. "We're waiting for Illyria to get back her time altering power," Buffy explained.

"I met two gods named Eternity and Infinity—they were siblings. They're the gods of the cosmos," Dawn told everyone. "They said so many things to me. They gave me back this form and said that my creator or father tried to make a child without a female, so I didn't have form. When the monks gave me my form, they didn't just make me from you, Buffy, but they actually put a part of your soul in me, and I'm immortal due to my key form. If Willow hadn't brought you back, I'd have died within a year."

"What?" Buffy said, trying to take in everything.

"So my grandfather didn't create the Key?" Thor said in surprise.

"I don't think so—he didn't name the god, though," Dawn said.

"Buffy's immortal?" Angel asked.

"Yes," Dawn said. "When we get tired of living, I can shed this form, and you can go back to heaven."

"Wow," Buffy said, not sure what to think about all that.

"Can you help with Thanos?" Steve asked.

"According to the sibling gods, Illyria can do that, but I'm supposed to absorb her excess energies," she said.

"We were wondering how we were going to solve that problem," Angel said. "Wesley's not here to make a ray gun."

"Bruce probably could've done it," Natasha said.

"Supposedly, I can absorb magical attacks and take on excess energy as well as open portals wherever I want," Dawn said, grinning at her sister. "Oh, and I can breathe in space somehow!"

"And you're still taller," Buffy said with a pout.

"And my boobs are bigger!" Dawn said, smirking.

Thor missed his own mischievous brother Loki as he watched the two interact. "Do you think it would be wrong of me to get Illyria to go back to Asgard at the time when my half-sister invades and destroys everything?" he asked the group.

"Well, let's take care of Thanos and then ask her," Steve said.

"It will depend on how well she's holding up with the excess energy," Angel said.

"Ria likes a good slaughter," Faith said.

"She's kind of like a loaded gun," Buffy said. "Just point her to where you want her to go."

"Just make sure she can't actually take over Asgard," Angel said.

"Keep her away from Loki," Steve said.

"My brother was killed by Thanos before his snap," Thor said. "Can we save him?"

"Loki doesn't deserve saving," Clint said, glaring. "Did you forget what he did on Earth?"

"I forget nothing," Thor said. "It was me he betrayed and tried to kill, but he has reformed and aided me against the Dark Elves after they murdered our mother. He's been by my side ever since."

"We will try to save everyone we can," Buffy said, giving Clint a pointed glare. "If you think he's worth saving, we will save him."

Thor smiled at her in gratitude.

Rocket moved to Dawn's side. "Hello," he said, looking up at her.

Dawn grinned down at him. "You are so cute!" she gushed.

Rocket rolled his eyes. "Don't even think of petting me! You said your father tried to create you without a mother?" he asked.

Dawn nodded. "That's what they told me," she said. "He's not human, but they said that he was some kind of god."

"My friend Peter is from this planet, and his dad was a celestial god, who went around trying to create life," Rocket said. "He might be your half-brother."

"Really?" Dawn said, looking at Buffy. "We might have an actual brother!"

Buffy grinned. "That'd be really cool. What's he like?" Buffy asked.

"He's okay," Rocket said. "He was taken in the snap, or he's with Ironman in space somewhere."

"Tony's not came back, so we don't know," Steve explained. "Peter and Dr. Strange were with them, and the other Guardians."

"We're the Guardians of the Galaxy," Rocket said. "We were able to keep one of the infinity stones from Thanos a few years ago, but he managed to get it back."

"Well, I just know we're going to get everyone back and kick Thanos' ass," Dawn said with the supreme confidence she learned from her big sister.

"Damn straight!" Faith said.

"She's coming!" Angel exclaimed from his watch at the entrance.

Illyria appeared. "It is done," she announced. "I am not as I once was, but I have regained much."

"Do you feel okay? Going to blow up on us?" Angel asked. "If you kill Fred again, I'm going to be really pissed!"

"She is fine," Illyria said. "She says to tell you to relax. We got this."

"You can hear her?" Angel asked.

"My new powers have made it easier to sense her," Illyria said. "It is like she is right next to me but not."

"So what's the plan?" Faith asked.

"Let's go back to headquarters and decide the best time to get Thanos and kill him," Steve suggested.

"Yes, we don't want to try to take him while he has all the stones," Buffy said.

Illyria opened a portal. She stepped through without comment, and everyone followed after her.

When they were back, Thor suggested that they go first to Nidavellir. "Etiri told Rocket and me that Thanos had killed all the dwarves and forced him to make the gauntlet," Thor said. "Without the gauntlet, he cannot wield any of the stones."

Illyria looked at Dawn with interest. "You are not as you were," she said.

"Nope. I'm all superpowered up like you," Dawn said with a grin. "I am the one who can absorb your powers before they cause you to go caplooey," she told her.

"Take my hand," Illyria said.

Dawn glanced at Buffy and Angel first because she didn't exactly trust the Old One.

Illyria's face transformed into Fred, but her body stayed the same. "It's okay, Dawn," Fred assured her. "She thinks together, we might be able to pinpoint the exact time Thanos is at Nidavellir."

"Oh," Dawn said. She grabbed Fred's hand, and her face morphed back into Illyria.

"That's some freaky shit," Clint whispered to Nat.

"You're telling me," Natasha said. "It's like this sweet Bruce puppy inside the Hulk. I wonder if Bruce could ever switch back and forth so easily?"

"That was intense!" Dawn remarked after releasing Illyria's hand.

"I have it," Illyria said. "We can get there before he gets the gauntlet. If we kill him in the past, everything will go back the way it was."

"Tony and Parker and everyone won't have even have left Earth," Steve said, nodding.

"That works for me," Natasha added.

"Are we sure about that?" Bruce asked. He and Rhodey had been waiting for them when they returned. "There's no way of knowing that we don't just create an alternate timeline entirely."

"If that timeline brings everyone back that he wiped out, does it matter?" Buffy asked.

"We are altering our current timeline," Dawn said. "However, it does create a conversion as we will know what's happening. If it was just resetting the timeline without Thanos' snap, we wouldn't remember."

"Fred says that time is circular, not a line," Illyria said.

"Does it matter?" Angel said. "If the end results brings back those we love, does it matter if time is altered or things are changed somewhat?"

"Not to me," Clint said. "I just want my wife and kids alive." Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Let's get it done," Faith said.

They all grabbed the weapons that they needed. "Who's going to take point?" Buffy asked.

"I will rip his head from his spine," Illyria announced.

"You're too short to even reach his head, and you can't fly," Buffy pointed out.

"You are not taller than I," Illyria said with a haughty sniff.

"I can fly, so I will take point," Thor said. "When I knock him down, everyone will get to chopping off body parts."

"I'm all for chopping up baddies," Buffy said with an eager grin.

"I will gauge out his eyes," Rocket announced.

"That's badass," Faith said, giving him an approving look.

Rocket preened at her approval. "I can add it to my collection of body parts," he said.

"Sick," Faith said, grinning.

"Are we ready?" Illyria asked.

"Remember," Thor said. "He will not be alone. He will have his so-called children with him—his lieutenants. They are very powerful. One of them is telekinetic."

"I think I can handle that one," Dawn said.

"Bruce, we need Hulk to handle the big one with Thanos," Thor said. "He is a black dwarf."

"I thought dwarfs were short?" Buffy asked.

"No," Thor said. "They are massively large and strong."

"Hulk will take him," Bruce said.

"Is the Big Guy coming out?" Natasha asked.

"He better," Bruce said. "Do you hear that Hulk? Stop being a baby. Just because Thanos beat you once doesn't mean he will again."

"No!" Hulk said.

Everyone looked at Bruce in various degrees of surprise.

Illyria went up to him, and she put her hand on Bruce's chest. Bruce was transformed into Hulk. "You will fight, or you will die," she said coolly.

"You can't kill Hulk," Hulk told her, glaring at her.

"Then stop being a coward," she said, looking up at him.

Hulk growled down at her. "Hulk not afraid of no one!"

"Did you know he could talk?" Natasha asked Clint and Steve. The two men shrugged.

"He spoke a lot to me when we were trapped on that planet and forced to fight," Thor said.

"Bruce lost over a year to Hulk's rage," Natasha said.

"We are ready," Buffy said, slapping her hands together and looking up at the Hulk. "We have the big green demon guy. We have an Old One, an immortal key, and Thor. Thanos and his goon squad won't know what hit'em!"

Illyria nodded and looked at Angel. "Are you coming?" she asked.

"Will there be a sun that will set me on fire?" Angel asked.

"No," Thor said.

"Then I'm coming," Angel said. He picked up a sword.

Illyria opened the portal and stepped through with Thor right behind her and then the Hulk. Steve tried to go next, but Faith jumped in front of him with a smirk. Buffy followed Steve with Dawn behind her. Clint stepped in after Natasha, leaving Rocket to follow before Rhodey as War Machine, and Angel stepped through last.

After Angel stepped through, the portal closed.

It looked like they were just in time. Rocket looked gleeful as he watched Thor jump up for the attack on Thanos. His lieutenants, though, stood in front of him as a shield.

The Hulk didn't hesitate, and the fight was furious. Illyria made short work of Proxima Midnight, the only female lieutenant of Thanos.

"She actually ripped out the girl's spine," Clint said a bit horrified.

"Don't piss her off," Natasha said with a smirk as Clint loaded his arrow and fired it into the skinny, ugly one.

When he flicked it away be raising his hand, Clint said, "Well, we know who the telekinetic guy is."

"I got this," Dawn said. She opened a portal right under the guy's feet, and he simply disappeared, falling through it.

"Cool," Buffy said, smiling at her in approval.

Steve, Faith, and Buffy took on another ugly alien while Clint shot arrows at the black dwarf the Hulk was fighting. Rhodey was flying above Thanos, shooting his proton cannon down on his head while Angel and Illyria focused on helping Thor with Thanos.

Angel used his sword to tear into Thanos massive leg, bringing him to his knees as Thor pulled his axe out of Thanos' chest, having once again missed the man's head in his first attack.

"Now I will take your head!" Thor declared.

Illyria, though, had moved to Thanos' backside and punched her fist through his back and grabbed a hold of his spine.

Thanos let out a scream of pain as she pulled, causing Thanos to collapse.

"Thus ends the life of Thanos, the Mad Titan," Thor said. Then he swung his axe at Thanos' head, determined to take it off anyway.

Rocket was gleeful as he used his pocketknife to take out an eye. "Slayer," he called out to Faith, who turned. Rocket held up the eye.

Faith howled in laughter, so relieved to see Thanos finally dead.

Hulk broke the dwarf's neck, and then it was over.

"We did it," Dawn said.

Everyone cheered, hugged, or high-fived each other.

"I can't believe you ripped out their spines," Natasha said to Illyria.

"That is my favorite way to kill," she said with a satisfied smile.

"It's super gross, Ria," Fred said, changing Illyria's face to Fred.

"Are you okay, Fred?" Angel asked her.

"I'm great, handsome man," Fred said, giving him a bright smile.

"Let's go back to Earth," Buffy said to Dawn. "We have to see if things are changed."

Dawn opened the portal, and they all stepped back into Avenger's headquarters.

It was brimming with life. Staff was there as if the snap hadn't happened. Since Thanos was killed in the past, he didn't get the stones and wipe out half the universe.

They had defeated Thanos.

Sam looked at Steve. "Where the hell did you guys go?" he asked.

Steve didn't answer—he just stepped close to hug Sam. He was so relieved that Thanos' snap was reversed.

Buffy jumped up and planted a kiss on Thor's cheek. "I've got to get back to Giles and my slayers in Newark. Come with us, and then Dawn and Illyria can go help you," she said.

Thor looked at Steve, who nodded. "Go. Save your people. Thanks, Thor," Steve said, holding out his hand.

Natasha watched their new friends leave—Angel and the Old One went with the slayers and the Key. Rocket was staying with Thor, assuming Thor would be how he'd get reunited with the Guardians.

Nat turned to Clint. "We have to get you home," she said.

Clint was already on his phone, calling his wife. When she picked up, his eyes filled with tears as relief filled him. They were alive again.

"Do you think Tony's okay?" Bruce asked Rhodey.

"If I know Tony, he's probably here somewhere," Rhodey said.

"That's right. If Thanos didn't ever get the stones, there was no reason for Tony or Peter to be in space," Bruce said. He called out, "Friday, is the boss man around?"

"He is at the park with Miss Potts," Friday said.

They really had won.

Everyone was returned to where they had been before the snap. Only those that had went to the past knew what had really happened.

*****_A Few Days Later*****_

Buffy and Faith had been happy to find all the slayers, Xander, and Willow back alive. No one who had been killed remembered anything. No one but the ones who were off planet retained any memories. It was like everything had been reset. Giles had cleaned his glasses for two entire minutes when they filled them on Dawn and what all had happened. He had wanted to doubt their wild tale even though Thor was there to verify. However, no one could dismiss the new changes in Dawn—even Willow was impressed.

Angel was back in Los Angeles with Spike. Illyria stayed with Buffy and Thor in New Jersey while they tied up loose ends.

Now they were going to the Asgard ship and help Thor and his people. Willow had decided she wasn't going to miss out on the adventure this time and was going with them.

Buffy looked at Faith as Dawn opened the portal. "This should be fun," she said.

"Hell yea!" Faith said, her excitement obvious.

They followed Thor into the portal.

*****_The End*****_

_I hope to one day write more, so I left some clear ties loose. I hope you enjoyed my short tale and didn't find it too simplistic. Reviews are nice. Thanks for reading. I'm not going to argue any rules of time travel or consequences of changing the timeline, so please don't try to destroy my chapter if it flies in the face of your strong beliefs on the matter. It's science-fiction and this IS fanfiction! :) _


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